Kathy Sykes, Senior Advisor of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Aging Initiative, spoke with us recently about the connections between the environment, our aging population, and the importance of creating walkable communities. She shared with us what she thinks those interested in the environment and aging in place will gain from attending Pro Walk/Pro Bike®: [...]Read More »

In 1980, the very first Pro Bike conference was convened in Asheville, North Carolina. At the time, the movement to carve out more space for bicycling on North American streets was young, and the first conference was attended by around 100 people. Thirty-two years later, the Pro Walk/Pro Bike: Pro Place is expected to draw [...]Read More »

It’s almost that time of year again: every fall, we host Placemaking trainings at PPS HQ. These two- and three-day sessions are designed to help anyone working on creating great places learn how to authentically engage with community members and other constituents around the shaping of public space. The How to Turn a Place Around [...]Read More »

League of American Bicyclists President Andy Clarke shared his thoughts and experiences with us at PPS on what bicycling means as a movement and how it has changed over the last 25 years. Andy, having been a part of the movement in the U.S. since it involved just a handful of eager cyclists, shed [...]Read More »

PPS President Fred Kent is featured as the guest on today’s episode of the cdmCyclist, a podcast hosted by Frank Peters in southern California, where we’re looking forward to hosting the Pro Walk/Pro Bike: Pro Place conference this September 10-13. Fred not only talks about the important role that walking and bicycling play in successful [...]Read More »

Pro Walk/Pro Bike: Pro Place keynote speaker John Norquist, who currently serves as the President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism, spoke with us recently about the role and responsibility of decision makers in promoting walking and biking, what urbanists need to learn, and what CNU’s 2012 Transportation Summit—immediately preceding Pro Walk/Pro [...]Read More »

Since the Project for Public Spaces was founded in 1975,we have worked in thousands of communities around the world to help people shape their public spaces to create great Places, where locals feel a sense of ownership, and visitors don’t want to leave. Still, for as much fun as we’ve had, something feels different lately. [...]Read More »

We recently chatted with experts John Massengale and Victor Dover about their book Street Design, which details the art and practice of creating great streets for people. In researching this book, John and Victor traveled across the world evaluating and experiencing different kinds of streets. John is an architect, urbanist, owner of Massengale & Co [...]Read More »

What happens when local small businesses bring a healthy dose of creative talent and out-of-the-box thinking to their entrepreneurial mix? What happens when they see themselves as progressive artisans and thought leaders and feel empowered to spread their enthusiasm with fellow local business owners? Business zones in cities and towns that were once depressed and/or [...]Read More »

While serving as Senior Program Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kate Kraft contributed to setting up the successful New Jersey FIT: Future In Transportation program at the New Jersey Department of Transportation. She currently works as a Community Health and Wellness Consultant and serves on the board of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Kate is [...]Read More »

According to Dr. Richard Jackson, a pioneering public health advocate and former CDC official now serving as the Chair of Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA, the idea that buildings, streets, and public spaces play a key role in the serious public health issues that we face in the US “has undergone a profound sea change [...]Read More »